All Sweat and Lycra

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Crache dans la soupe

I must apologise to my loyal readers. I have been wallowing in a Kimmagian pit of misery. As my chip and chocolate addiction spiral out of control so does my weight. Work and weather wreck my weekly training.

I reached my Nadir tonight however. I found myself reading ‘Rough Rides’ while eating a McDonald’s ‘Happy meal’. The meal did not make me happy.

But I have found inspiration within the pages of Mr Kimmages splendid book. Sean Kelly had saved me again.

Paul visits Sean in Brussels when he is facing a professional crisis …

‘I never liked saunas, and Kelly insisted on rising the temperature by throwing water on the stones. We lasted 15 minutes but had to get out. It had been incredibly hot and we were both so drained that we could hardly stand

“Jaysus, Kelly, you look like death warmed up. “And he laughed, but then said, “Did you never feel this tired after finishing a race?”I thought about it. Yes I had but only once. It was in a prologue time trial of the Coors Classic in Boulder, Colorado a few weeks before the Olympic Road race in LA. The finish was at the top of a hard climb, and I remember losing consciousness about fifty metres before the line and waking up with a blanket around me five minutes later. It was the only time in my life I had ever pushed myself beyond my limits